Ex-President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for the incarceration of Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, accusing them of failing to protect federal immigration officers.
"The city's leader should be jailed for endangering ICE Officers!" Trump posted on social media Wednesday morning. "Governor Pritzker too!"
The two leaders are members of the Democratic faction.
These remarks coincide with the arrival of National Guard troops in the Windy City area under orders from the federal administration, despite vehement protests from state officials including Pritzker and Johnson.
"This marks not the first instance where Trump has sought to have an African American leader wrongfully arrested," Mayor Johnson stated on that day. "I am staying put."
The governor responded via online channels, stating: "I will not yield. Trump is now calling for imprisonment of elected officials checking his power. What's next on the road toward complete authoritarianism?"
By Wednesday morning, military troops from Texas had arrived at the Elwood army reserve center, a military installation approximately 80 kilometers from Chicago, as the federal government advances with its aggressive urban crime policy and immigration enforcement operations.
Trump has called Chicago a "crime-ridden disaster zone", despite official statistics indicate significant drops in most criminal activities, including homicides.
That day, two hundred state guard troops were expected to deploy to the Chicago area, with an additional three hundred Illinois guard forces readying for deployment, according to sources. Officials reportedly stated the soldiers would not perform law enforcement duties but would protect ICE officers and government buildings.
Military personnel in combat attire with state guard insignia were spotted at the US army reserve center in the town. Vehicles labeled "Disaster Relief" dropped off sanitation facilities and essential items. Trailers were set up in lines. Extra barriers was installed around the compound.
The Federal Aviation Administration imposed no-fly zones over the military base for safety concerns until early December.
The administration has intensified deportation operations in Chicago in recent weeks, sparking demonstrations, particularly near an processing facility in Broadview.
On Monday, Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit targeting the federal government, seeking to block the military dispatch, urging a federal judge to stop what they describe as "the president's proclaimed 'Battle'" on Chicago and Illinois, calling it "unlawful and dangerous".
Legal proceedings on their lawsuit is set for Thursday.
The mayor also signed an executive order on that day prohibiting federal immigration agents and related personnel from using municipal facilities as operation bases for enforcement actions.
The governor has accused the president of using troops as "political props" and "chess pieces".
At a news conference on Tuesday, Pritzker said that the president is trying to "justify and normalize the deployment of military personnel under his direct command."
The historic federal law restricts the army's involvement in civilian law enforcement. Yet, Trump has stated he would be willing to activate the emergency powers, which allows a commander-in-chief to dispatch regular army in states that are failing to suppress an uprising or are defying federal law.
After beginning his second term, Trump has sent or discussed deploying troops to at least 10 urban centers, including Baltimore; Washington DC; New Orleans and California cities like Bay Area and Southern California municipalities, arguing that the military presence is necessary to fight violence and defend immigration agents.
Statistics indicates that serious offenses nationwide has declined in the past few years. In Chicago, for example, homicides were reduced nearly one-third to under three hundred through late summer, according to police data.
A recent poll published on that day found that most Americans disapprove of the sending of military forces without an external threat.
